📚 October 2023
Birthday month and creative tools for life
‘I wrote a book that spoke to millions. It had a central premise - we are all creative - and with the use of a few simple tools, we can all become more creative.’ — Julia Cameron
October is the month: I have completed another lap around the Sun - I am a year older.
Every birthday is an opportunity to reflect on the previous years. Not by coincidence, when doing some Spring cleaning here in our place in Auckland, I discovered I brought with me from London a notebook where I took notes and did some of the exercises prescribed in the famous book The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. These were notes from September 2019, exactly 4 years ago. The Artist’s Way was also one of the books I packed with me to New Zealand.
I can’t remember how this book came to my hands, somebody must have recommended it to me, or I have probably seen it recommended by several people on social media. It is a cliché, but Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way and her creative tools did change my life or, at least, they steered it towards a most desirable path: they made me reconnect with my artist self (thanks for the encouragement, Julia!).
I wrote an early post on Julia Cameron’s creative tools, but these are some further notes on habits I set up after reading her book:
Morning Pages. After reading the first pages of the book, I started journaling again almost every day, and let me tell you: this newsletter wouldn’t be a thing if it wasn’t because of this. Writing has become truly a habit, making me connect with my inner self and be more in tune with the beauty of the world around me. Since 2019, I have kept journals and written regularly - sometimes pausing during travels, but keeping the habit and a total of 13 A5 format journals in 4 years.
Here’s a little secret that might inspire your journaling practice: name your journals and years. I come across themes or beautiful words in different languages that guide me and serve me as a framework throughout each lap around the Sun: Kaizen, Ma...
Artist Dates. Cameron’s book made me experience the power of filling my own creative well and the benefits of having dates with myself. It made me reconnect with the city I was living in at that time (London) and appreciate it even more.
My Artist Dates consisted mostly of going to life drawing sessions and museums and galleries back in London. After moving temporarily to Auckland I learned that Artist Dates must adapt to the context. Here and now my dates are going to the Public Library, walking around the park or the beach, and visiting the main gallery.
Walking. Although I’ve always enjoyed moving my body and wandering places, it wasn’t until I read Cameron’s books that I started to practice walking more consciously as a creative tool. She has prescripted some ways to do it, for example, by having a question to ponder around while walking.
There’s a lot of science behind how moving our body activates our creative thinking, so this tool could come in the form of hiking, jogging, swimming, etc. I personally like the walking pace and prefer to use the walk to pay attention to things and to discover patterns. What I have noticed is that for it to work to reveal ideas or produce creatively, it needs to be a longer walk of at least half an hour. A tip, and something that works for me: try to introduce walking in your commute or in your regular chores. It’ll help you build the habit without effort.
When reflecting on these tools, it’s interesting how I have adapted them to the context I had lived in but they have always remained constant since I read the book in 2019. For example: my commute in London when living in Islington involved walking back home but when the Pandemic started and we worked from home for months, I took a walk in the early morning and/or after work around the nearby park. Sometimes when traveling and not being able to write in the morning, I take the Morning Pages to the night, to the time before going to sleep. And after moving to Auckland my Artist Dates have changed context and thanks to that I have reconnected with making use of the Public Library more often.
It is so inspiring to hear about other artists’ tools and habits but ultimately, we need to define our own. And these must be enjoyable, resilient, flexible, and work for our own practice. Try Julia’s ones but adapt them to your needs!
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Happy reading!
ana
📚 What I’m reading in October 2023:
Colour. A Visual History by Alexandra Loske. A beautiful birthday present, this book presents a recollection of colour in art through history and different themes.
Wellington Architecture. A Walking Guide by John Walsh and photography by Patrick Reynolds. This little book is part of a collection together with two more: Auckland and Christchurch. A great read before the trip to Wellington we did this month.
Do Interesting - Notice. Collect. Share. by Russell Davies. A little book for doers that compiles great actionable advice to get more creative.
The Art of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, Wayne G. Hammond, and Christina Scull. When in Wellington, we visited the Wētā workshop and got inspired by their creative process. I found this great book in the shop that shows the sketches and process of illustrating the book The Hobbit and recently checked it out in Auckland’s public library.
Wonderful to hear how you adapted your morning pages. I too struggle to write in the morning while traveling and never thought to try it at night. Thanks for sharing!! I’ll give it a try on my next trip :)
Another super post, Ana. And happy birthday!